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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Bookish Memes!

Steph Su from Steph Su Reads tagged me in a book meme! And since I'm starting school this week (and therefore INSANE and incapable of THOUGHT), I thought I'd ease my weary brain by answering questions instead of actually writing something creative and, yanno, entertaining. (Corollary: I'm actually skipping around on all of Steph's questions...my brain really is melting and I don't think I could make it through all of them!)

Hardback, trade paperback or mass market paperback?Hardback--if I can afford it. I like the look and feel of them. And you never know which first edition hardback will be worth millions in the future! I missed out on Harry Potter first edition of the first volume, but I'm making up for it now!

Bookmark or dog-ear?Bookmark...but usually I just use the flap of the dust jacket, if it's hardback. And my bookmarks aren't fancy. They're whatever scrap of paper or thin thing I can find.

Alphabetize by author, or alphabetize by title, or random?My system isn't random--but it looks like it. I have three large bookshelves (and a couple of smaller ones). One shelf is for my favorite books of all time, organized by how much I like them. The other is for MG/YA fiction, organized by order of how much I like the book. The other is nonfiction or adult fiction, organized by time periods in history.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?Depends on how good the book is.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?I like them to start "Once upon a time," but end with a dark and stormy night.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations, or browse?It takes a combination. If I hear about the book a lot, especially from people whose recommendations I trust, I'll go out of my way to get the book.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?Neither. I don't want a cliff-hanger, but I don't want everything to be perfect, either. I want a bit of a mess, a bit of broken-ness.

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?Usually night, but the mark of a good book is one I'll read from morning to night.

Favorite series?Narnia, then HP.

Favorite children’s book?I agree with Steph--Ella Enchanted is great. I also personally adore all the Narnia books, especially THE SILVER CHAIR.

Favorite YA book?Ummm...THE HERO AND THE CROWN. Also THE BOOK THIEF and THE HUNGER GAMES. And THE THIEF.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?DOOMSDAY BOOK by Connie Willis. Brilliant. I cry every time.

What are you reading right now?STORM GLASS by Maria Snyder

What are you reading next?Hmmm...maybe finish THE HOST, or start WINGS.

Favorite book to recommend to an 11-year-old?A WRINKLE IN TIME

Favorite book to re-read?THE HERO AND THE CROWN. I used to read it every year on my birthday, until I started to memorize it.

Do you ever smell books?OMG YES.

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?Umm....right now, HUSH, HUSH. The cover looks good, the reviews are amazing...but the plot sounds eh to me. I think there's some supernatural creatures that I'm getting sick of. Also, SHIVER. Same reason.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?Oh! Um...Doon from THE CITY OF EMBER...I'd like to pick his brain for awhile, ask what it was all like. Conn from THE MAGIC THIEF--he'd be hilarious and I'd have him show me the underworld of the cities. And finally...Meg from A WRINKLE IN TIME. She sounds like home.

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realize it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?You should know this about me: I actually have a real list of Most Hated Books in the World. Number one on that list? MOBY DICK. NO ONE CARES ABOUT THE STUPID WHALE, MELVILLE, JUST SHUT UP.

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?I've never read THE SCARLET LETTER, despite the fact that I taught it in my American lit class.

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book?Probably something by Tanith Lee. I was obsessed with her books for awhile as a kid, but now I can't remember which I read and which I didn't.

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (If you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead and personalize the VIP.)THE HERO AND THE CROWN, THE THIEF, or THE BOOK THIEF. If you don't like these books, you're not a VIP, and you're not my friend.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?Ancient Greek. Possibly Hebrew or Aramaic. For religious reasons.

A mischievious fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?THE HERO AND THE CROWN. I do that anyway :)

What author do you own the most books by?CS Lewis.

What book do you own the most copies of?THE HERO AND THE CROWN and A WRINKLE IN TIME. I've been given copies of these books--nice ones--but I also have the original copy I originally read, and I can't bear to part with them.

What fictional character are you secretly in love with?Bartimaus from The Bartimaus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. Although I'd prefer him to be human first.

What book have you read more than any other?Probably all the books in the Harry Potter series. They're one of the few audio books I own, so I listne to them during housework. Add that all up, I've probably "read" those more than anything else.

What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?The Narnia books.

What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?I shouldn't say.

What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?POISON STUDY, THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, THE HUNGER GAMES.

What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?I'm going to repeat Steph word for word here: "Anything by Faulkner. Hah! Take that, you dead old white Southern man!"

Do you prefer the French or the Russians?Ugh. The British.

Shakespeare, Milton or Chaucer?SHAKESPEARE. Hardcore, yo.

Austen or Eliot?Bronte (Charlotte). Then Austen.

What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?None. I read what I like, and don't really care about people who think I "should" read something/someone else.

What is your favorite novel?Narnian series, then Harry Potter, then THE HERO AND THE CROWN.

What is your favorite play?MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. I met my husband on set.

What is your favorite poem?I like Emily Dickinson, but also Robert Browning. "My Last Duchess," and "Porphyria" are brilliant. Modern poet love goes to Ted Kooser for "Tattoo."

What is your favorite short story?"All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury

What is your favorite non-fiction?Books on the Pre-Raphaelite art movement.

What is your favorite graphic novel?Oh, I love manga. Hmm...right now I'm working through Fruits Basket, although it's getting a bit too long for me. Escaflowne was nice, and I actually went a little Sailor Moon crazy back in the day.

What is your favorite science fiction?I like the SF that doesn't read like SF. Such as THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX. Or THE HITCHIKER'S GUIDE by Douglas Adams

Memoir?THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O'Brien. Or does NIGHT by Elie Wiesel count?

Who is the most over rated writer alive today?Stephenie Meyer. There. I said.

What book do you wish someone would write so you could read it?I want something like CS Lewis's TILL WE HAVE FACES or Jane Yolen's BOUND, but the story of Rapunzel. Something really unique, really deep, really beautifully written with that fairy tale.

Feel free to copy these for your own blog! Link back here and let me know your answers!